The collection includes; Series I correspondence, both incoming and outgoing correspondence organized in alphabetically ordered folders. However, researchers should be aware that Sharp's correspondence from the 1970s and 1980s has not yet been deposited in the Archives. Series II contains Sharp's geology field notebooks covering the years between 1936 to 1996, as well as his research notes and his annotated maps. Series III contains teaching material such as course and lecture notes, class assignments, and exams. Teaching aids, such as reference lists, can also be found in this section. Series IV deals with both academic and non-academic field trips conducted by Sharp. Photos related to field trips are found under Series VIII. Sharp's manuscripts, preprints and talks can be found in Series V. They are arranged in chronological order and contain a wide variety of related documents, from outlines and notes to related correspondence. Sharp's reprints have been grouped in Series VI. Series VII contains a small amount of biographical material. Researchers should refer to Sharp's oral histories, conducted in 1979-1980 by Graham Berry and in 1999 by Shelley Erwin, which are deposited in the Caltech Archives. Series VIII contains research related photos, field trip photos, and some personal photos.